1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications and, more particularly, to methods and systems for managing multiple directory numbers for a mobile station.
2. Description of Related Art
With the continued increase in the availability of wireless telecommunications, has come an increased ability to reach people on their mobile stations wherever they may be located. The capability of receiving telephone calls in nearly any location provides many advantages, but it can also create problems. For example, a user may be interrupted by a call to his or her mobile station during an important meeting. Alternative forms of call alerting, such as vibrating instead of ringing, can minimize the interruption problem. However, some users may want to be interrupted for certain important calls. More generally, many users tend to “screen” calls to their mobile stations to determine whether the call is important enough to answer immediately or whether to let the call go to voice mail instead. Users often engage in such call screening based on the calling party information their mobile stations display when alerted. However, call screening based on calling party information has certain drawbacks. For example, some incoming calls may not generate calling party information, or the calling party may be calling from a payphone or other unrecognized telephone number. Moreover, the process of reading calling party information on a mobile station display can itself be a significant interruption.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide ways to enable users to better manage the many types of calls they receive on their mobile stations.